Magill's Choice: Holocaust Literature Review

Wednesday, February 28, 2018 11:08:35 PM
“Texts frequently found in high school and college curriculum, including Elie Wiesel’s Night, Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl, Corrie ten Boom’s The Hiding Place, and Art Spiegelman’s more recently penned Maus are reviewed, as are works by Primo Levi, Simon Wiesenthal, and Isaac Bashevis Singer. The editor’s insightful introduction reminds readers of the ambivalence that permeates this genre: a beautiful but indifferent natural landscape as a backdrop to the worst horrors of mankind, a reluctance to attempt writing about the subject but a compulsion to try, an insistence that we must never forget in the face of Bosnia, Rwanda and Darfur. Each of the alphabetically arranged entries begins with the essential details of the work, including author, year of publication, genre, and a list of principal personages or characters. Seventy-five authors contribute reviews that include a summary of plot or events, a brief analysis of themes and literary techniques, a reflection on the work’s contribution to the genre, and a brief list of recommended sources for further study. The set concludes with additional recommendations of Holocaust literature organized by genre; a general bibliography organized by topic; recommended websites; and genre, title and author indexes. Teachers and students can use entries as either extensions or as starting points in exploration of Holocaust literature. Recommended for high school, college and public libraries.”
-GALE

“This set of essays is an excellent, comprehensive reference source.”
-School Library Journal

“Edited by Holocaust scholar John Roth, the set contains over 100 reviews of notable fiction and nonfiction works that portray the Holocaust and its aftermath. The words of the poets, dramatists, novelists, historians, and first-hand witnesses whose works are reviewed in these volumes keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, and this living memory is also the purpose of Holocaust Literature. Through introducing multifaceted perspectives on the genocide of the Holocaust, this set is intended to give readers with a sense of responsibility to remember and to counter genocide wherever it occurs in the world.

To accomplish this purpose, each review begins with an informative abstract and contains a summary and critical analysis of the reviewed work’s themes and significance. Entries range in length from three to five pages and include a selected bibliography. Their scope is comprehensive, including works from the Diary of a Young Girl (1947) to Europe Central (2005)...They are arranged alphabetically by title for easy access, and are indexed by author, title, and genre, although not by principal characters. Extensive bibliographies of both print and Web sources conclude the second volume, making this set an ideal choice both for teachers and for beginning and advanced students of the Holocaust.”
-ARBA